Into The Unknown
by DoombotScout
Summary: Set as an AU for Halo 4 and The Avengers, where Tony Stark misses the portal back to Earth, and instead lands on the Forward Unto Dawn, prompting Cortana to wake up the Master Chief early. Rated T for violence and slight language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I had an idea for this story when I was complaining about how hard it was to write a Halo fanfiction story to my friend, and they suggested that I write a crossover of The Avengers and Halo instead.**

 **This story will take place before Halo 4 when Chief and Cortana are still stuck on the Forward Unto Dawn, and when Iron Man is taking the nuke into space… except he misses the vortex back into Earth. Hopefully future chapters will turn out longer! Please let me know if you like!**

Chapter 1;

 _Well, this is it._ Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, and Iron Man thought as he plummeted towards the rapidly closing wormhole. Tears formed in his eyes - immediately freezing since he was in space - as he thought about how he would never see Pepper again. Or Rhody. Or Happy. Or even the Avengers, he doubted that even Thor - weird alien that he was - knew what deep and dark space that the man was in now _. It's too late_. Tony thought _. I never got to marry Pepper, I never got to tell Steve that he isn't actually all that bad, I didn't get to play pranks on Clint, or do Scientific stuff with Bruce, or get to know the_ real _Natasha all that well. Hm…. I expected my life to be flashing before my eyes at this point, but I guess dying is just overrated. I wanted to see Pepper's face just one last time, but now I can hardly recall it…_

His suit was breaking down, his oxygen filters were freezing over - breath was becoming hard for Tony. The freezing cold was creeping up his body, the man could feel his organs slowly shutting down, the nuke he had brought into space exploding the Chitauri ship before his flickering vision. His call to Pepper hadn't gone through, and he had disconnected from Jarvis. In his last minutes, the ailing billionaire was well and truly alone.

And down his body plummeted; down, down, down, down, towards the rapidly contracting wormhole to his only chance of salvation. His metal laden body fell closer, closer, closer… but not close enough. With seconds to spare, the wormhole completely closed…

And Tony was still in space.

Dying.

Alone.

 _So this is the end._ He thought dryly. _Huh. So I'm not killed by some big bad super-villain - not directly, anyways -_ **or** _my stupid heart. Not that space is much better, I have to admit. And if I had to choose between the three of them, falling to some world-conqueror actually sounds pretty coo-…_

At this point, Tony's brain wasn't able to function well enough to form any sort of coherent thought, but a morbid sense of acceptance fell over the genius playboy _. This is the end_.

He was ready to die, he had made his mark in the world. Not nearly large enough for him, admittedly, but hey, who was he to be choosy? He was in _frickin' space_.

He was going to die.

And that was okay.

It was all over now…

There was nothing anyone could do…

But then, his body made impact on something… large. And metal. And not space.

And so Tony, with his last sliver of consciousness, began fighting the inevitable.

But even the most valiant of efforts would save him only a little more time.

He couldn't make it on his own.

But, unaware to the heroic man known as Iron Man, this blow hadn't just woke _him_ up.

Cortana was awakened by a sudden impact on the ship.

 _ **What…?**_ She wondered slightly groggily. She brought up the scanners, and checked out what had passed through their somewhat unstable shield systems.

At first glance, it wasn't much. Just a small, insignificant piece of debris that had slipped through their shields. Nothing of importance. But just as she was about to dismiss it, some instinct stayed Cortana's holographical hand. She didn't know what, but it was most certainly _something._ She took a closer look at the hunk of space junk that had impacted the _Forward Unto Dawn_. Cortana's nonexistent eyes widened.

 _ **Was it…?**_ No. It couldn't be. Of course that wasn't shaped like a man. But just to be sure, Cortana switched sensors.

 _ **[No…]**_ she gasped. For, indeed, this piece of metal was showing vitals. They were weak, whoever it was shouldn't even have technically been alive, but it _was._ Cortana decided to move past that, this person needed help. No matter how slim his chances were, Cortana would be damned if she didn't at the very least attempt to save some idiot's life.

However… She looked down uselessly at her illusionary hands. She was incapable of physically helping that person out there, which meant she only had one option…

 **[John…]** she said urgently. **[John! Wake up!]**

 **A/N: All mistakes made by me, I don't have a Beta. New chapter should be out soon, please send me a review!**

 **-Doom**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N OMG thank you guys so much for following/favorite-ing my story, it really means a lot to me! None of my other stories have gotten this much attention (small as it is), so let me just say, YOU GUYS ARE SUPER AMAZING! I'm going to try to update once a week, although right now I have this stupidly huge State-issued test in school, and I have to give this huge 7-minute speech to my class about Physician-Assisted Suicide, and to be honest, there's really not much to tell so I'm basically going to be stating the same things in different ways for 7 FRAKING MINUTES! Along with the fact that I'm crap at public speaking, it ain't gonna be fun. But anyways, enough about me. I'm just saying that it might be a little bit longer between the next update, but it'll hopefully not be too bad. Anyways, please enjoy!**

 **Everything you see is self-edited, so blame any inconsistencies on me.**

Chapter 2;

His vision flickered, as consciousness painfully overtook him. But… why?

 _ **[John…. wake… up…]**_

What was that?

The voice was familiar, but the Spartan's groggy mind struggled to make the connection as to _how._

 _ **[John! Wake up!]**_

All of a sudden, his thoughts connected.

 _Cortana._

But why was she waking him up, after all of this time?

" _Cor-Cortana._ " He croaked out.

Relief seemed to flood his friend's voice after she heard him speak.

 **[Yes, John?]**

"Why… why have you woken me?"

 **[I didn't want to, honestly Chief, it's just that… that…]**

The Spartan was worried now.

"What is it, Cortana? The Covenant? Have they found us?"

 **[No. No, thank god. Not… not quite.]**

"Then what?"

 **[Oh, John…]** Cortana's voice broke up for a second, and she had to wait a few seconds to regain it. **[John, it's just… there's a man. Who was in space. He's nearly dead, and I can't exactly…]** She trailed off hopelessly, indicating to her body. Chief understood, no more words were needed.

"Where is he?" He asked, all business now. The was no way in hell that he was going to let some man die if he could help it, even if said man turned out to be a menace.

 **[Thank you, John. This means a lot to me. He's by the main hangar. Bring him to the medical bay, and I can instruct you on how to care for him, he's gonna require a little more than basic first aid**. **]** Cortana replied, all business now. Chief nodded, and took her chip out from the console, inserting it into his helmet.

 **[Oh, and John**?] Cortana said quietly, her voice filtering directly into his helmet.

"Yes?"

 **[I missed you.]**

"Me too."

And with that, the Mater Chief ran to the hangar as fast as his slightly shaky legs could carry him.

When they reached the hangar, Chief had to take a moment to take in the sight.

The half-dead space idiot was definitely a man, but he was… strange. Most of his body seemed to be covered in what appeared to be red-and-gold Spartan armor, but made out of Earth metals and with a different facemask. Also, the technology it was made with seemed… not more advanced, but then again it was definitely not more primitive either. The tech was _different,_ to say the least.

"What kind of technology is this?" Chief asked whilst stripping it off of the man.

 **[*Scanning now.* Huh… I don't actually know, John. It doesn't come up in any of the databases.]**

"Strange. But that doesn't matter now, I'll just leave it here for further inspection."

He then proceeded to strip the remaining metal armor off with greater care, trying to minimalize the damage to the technology.

 **[His vitals are getting lower!]** Cortana's voice threatened **. [Better hurry, Chief.]**

"Will do." Master Chief acknowledged, hastening his movements.

Once the strange armor was off, Chief immediately deduced that this man was not a Spartan or, as a matter of fact, an enhanced human of any kind. He wasn't even built in a way that would suggest he was a Marine. Instead, he looked like a rich man who was a heavy drinker and, it appeared, had a very active sex life.

Although his apparent lifestyle and clothes were a little strange, nothing seemed too off about him, except for…

 _The man's chest._

Chief's breath hitched slightly when he noticed it.

A glowing circle, made with strange technology similar to that of the suit, embedded in the other man's chest.

"Cortana?"

 **[I see it, Chief. Still working on believing. Just like the armor, I have no idea what technology was used to make it, but I would advise against removing it. It's keeping him alive, it appears to be, along with being a power source, an electromagnet, and it's keeping some shrapnel embedded in his chest away from his heart.]**

"Well if that's the doctor's orders." Chief replied, only slightly joking.

 **[Not funny, Chief**. **]** His AI companion scolded **. [Not the time for messing around. Quickly, get our new friend to the Medical Bay so that we can hook him up to life support, and work on saving his life.]**

The Spartan acknowledged her by hoisting the body up and, carrying him bridal-style, rushed the perishing stranger to the Medical Bay.

Once he had hooked the man up to the life support machines, showing weak vital signs - the man was scarcely alive - Chief looked to Cortana for assistance, doctoring not being one of his greatest areas of expertise.

"Status?"

 **[*Scanning now.* Well, Chief, good news is that you got to him just in time. If we work fast enough, we just may be able to save him. His medical status isn't good, though. His heart is very strained, he has hypothermia, various first and second degree burns, one nasty third degree burn on his right forearm, 3 broken fingers, a sprained wrist, a broken leg, multiple cracked ribs, and a heavily bruised jaw. Along with that, his lungs are pretty beat up from his adventure in space, and many of his internal organs are partially frozen.]**

Any normal man would have despaired at this, but the Master Chief was not a normal man. And plus, this beat-up patient intrigued him.

"So," he said, cracking his knuckles expertly. "Where should I start?"

 **A/N: So, how was it? Please drop me a review and/or follow/fave; anyways, you guys are amazing - shine on!**

 **Until next time.**

 **-Doom**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: OMG guys I have failed you all! I am so sorry, but just recently gave my speech, and I didn't have much time to write after that. Then, I lost my computer charger, and the internet went out for a few days. Sometimes I hate life. Sorry if this chapter is a little rushed, I'll try to do better (and it will be a shorter time between updates, ideally).**

 **I was thinking of answering reviews, not sure if this'll be a permanent thing, but here we go.**

 **The Crimson Commando: Thanks for understanding! And I don't know how I missed that 's', thank you for pointing it out.**

 **Guest: Um… okay. Not sure if that was a compliment or criticism, but I'll keep that in mind with later chapters.**

 **ProphetOfRegret (Guest): Why thank you, and whether or not it's good is your opinion, but hopefully you like it!**

 **Jon12231223: Sorry I took so long, but here you are!**

 **Anyways, on to the story - which is, disappointingly, far shorter than I had hoped it would be.**

 **(Quick notice: Any medical information is from memory from a few weeks ago when I looked it up, so it could be incorrect, no hate please)**

Chapter 3;

Cortana pondered the Chief's question for a moment. **[Well, I would suggest starting with that third-degree burn. There isn't much we can do, but try to elevate it and then see if we can get some ice or something onto it.]**

Chief grunted noncommittally, and proceeded to follow her instructions without further ado.

He couldn't find an icepack, so he had to make do with actual ice, hoping that it wouldn't melt too quickly.

"Alright, done. That wasn't too hard."

 **[Well, don't get too cocky.]** Cortana snorted. **[We still have to deal with the rest of his injuries. It's gonna be a long day. Or night. Whichever you prefer. Now, about those cracked ribs…]**

Cortana had not been incorrect by any means, the two of them worked relentlessly for hours on end, so long that even Cortana had more or less lost track of the time.

They progressed from most dangerous wound to least, a strategy that seemed to work pretty well.

Chief finally bound the last splint to the man's cracked fingers, and stood back for further instructions.

 **[Well, John, I didn't think that we would be able to do it, but look at that! There isn't much else that we can do for him, unless you want me to take some specs on that weird magnet in his chest.]**

"…Yeah, I think that we might want to do that." Chief decided. He pulled back the thin sheet that had been acting as a blanket in a vain attempt to help the man retain some of his privacy, even though he was unconscious. "He's going to make it, then?"

 **[Most likely. In any case, there's really nothing more that we can do, so don't worry about it, Chief. Now get a little closer so I can analyze it.]**

Without another word, the Spartan attempted to get a good viewpoint with his helmet, but it was quite impossible without making his position quite akward for all parties involved if the space adventurer retained his consciousness. Even if an abrupt awakening was extremely unlikely, Chief didn't exactly feel good about it.

 **[Really, Chief. You find your humility** _ **now?**_ **]** Cortana asked exasperatedly. **[Well, you could always download me to the Medical Bay's port and I can do it myself.]**

Realizing that this was the easiest solution for the both of them, Chief reluctantly heeded her advice, and took her chip out of his helmet, inserting it into a database nearby. A beam of light emitted from Cortana's residence, and after a few moments, she gave her companion the rundown of the weird-technology-in-the-almost-dead-guy's-chest thing.

 **[Analysis: As I said before, it's a magnet, keeping shrapnel out of his chest. It also seems to be some sort of reactor, it at the very least functions as a power source. This leads me to believe that it very possibly is the thing that was powering that armor that you stripped off him. I have no idea what it's made of, unfortunately, it isn't composed of any known element in my databases.]**

Chief pondered this for a moment. "Is it possible that he created his own?"

Cortana was silent for a few seconds before replying. **[It's unlikely, but not out of the picture. I suppose that we'll just have to ask him when he wakes up.]**

Chief sighed dramatically. "So many questions… we should make a list!"

Cortana chuckled lightly. **[Well in any case, you should go and get some rest. You worked hard today, soldier. I'll let you know if there are any developments.]**

He would have argued with her, but his sense of fatigue told him not to argue. With a grunt, he headed to where he knew that the barracks were.

His internal clock told him that he had only been sleeping for a few hours when Cortana's voice came on over the intercom.

 **[Chief! You'd better get your butt down to the medical bay, our patient is waking up!]**

 **A/N: Well, folks, next chapter it should get interesting!**

 **And also, I will write** _ **way**_ **faster (and be able to write a few chapters ahead to give myself some breathing room) if you guys give me some ideas for future Tony/Chief/Cortana interactions! Please keep that in mind, but thanks anyways for even reading this thing!**

 **Sorry again for the length.**

 **See ya next time!**

 **-Doom**


End file.
